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No matter how many times Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is asked about returning offensive coordinator Liam Coen, he never runs out of good things to say about his return and that only leads to more optimism for Kentucky football fans about the upcoming season.
“There’s no question the comfort level with bringing Liam back is there. I mean, it’s evident. It’s obvious in our building, with our players. He knows so many of ’em. But he has that energy,” Stoops said Friday at UK’s Media Day.
Kentucky won 10 games in 2021 with Coen as offensive coordinator before he left to become OC with the Los Angeles Rams. Kentucky’s offense took a big step back last season when the Cats won only seven games and struggled to have any consistency on offense under new OC Rich Scangarello.
“I don’t want to put any and all problems on a previous coach. That’s on me. Things that have happened a year ago, the areas where we fell short, a lot of them are within the program, I’ll shoulder that,” Stoops said.
“But with Liam, he brings an energy, he brings a confidence. The difference is this time compared to the first go around is he is proven. He’s proven himself that he can be successful in the SEC.”
Coen was an unknown on the national scene when he came to UK in 2021 but Stoops saw something special in him. Now he’s back after a year working with the best in the NFL.
“When I hired him the first time, he hadn’t had that proof yet. I believed him or I wouldn’t have hired him,” Stoops said. “I think this time you could feel that confidence. I like the creativity. We have to play to our strengths and be adaptable. He does that very well.”
